Communication networks, such as the Internet, allow users from different locations to access data from anywhere in the world. Because of the vastness of the amount of information, users typically employ search engines to find relevant information. This allows the vast amounts of data to be easily accessible to users in any location by simply entering a search query. Results of the query are then returned to the user in a search result list. Typically, these lists are “flat” or one dimensional. In other words, the search results are ranked solely on the search query entered by the user.
The usefulness of such a search result list is dependent on several factors—adequacy of the search string (i.e., is this really what the user is interested in), accessibility of relevant data by the search engine, proper relevancy ranking of the data by the search engine. Thus, a poorly worded search string will not return favorable results to a user. And, even if properly worded, if the search engine does not have access to relevant data, the search results will be less than effective. If access is available, but the search engine lists the search results in a large one-dimensional list according to a single relevancy, the user may become overwhelmed and be dissatisfied with the search results. Users generally prefer a search engine that can return relevant data quickly, efficiently, and in an easily readable format. However, search engines do not generally provide relevancy flexibility in the presentation of the search results.